This week on Act Out, we go to the front lines in Europe to dispel the myths of a squeaky green facade and hear about the tactics and actions being used to shut down and block dirty and destructive energy projects. Next, making connections and why greenwashing “over there” matters to you. Next up, how do we fight - in the capitalist line.

http://www.dw.com/en/cop23-thousands-pr ... a-41236777COP23: Thousands protest German coal use ahead of UN Climate Change Conference in BonnJust days before the UN Climate Conference is due to get underway, thousands of people have protested in Bonn demanding Germany immediately phase out its use of coal.....

While it may just be an acknowledgement of reality, the scrapping of the 2020 target represents a symbolic blow for Merkel politically. It may be only one of the first of her pet projects to take a hit during these talks, undermining her authority. If postponing the target is unavoidable at this point, climate activists will now be working to put pressure on the government to set the new target as early in the 2020s as possible.

For the first time in more than 200 years a German cathedral has been deliberately torn down.

Demolition teams moved in on Immerath Cathedral this morning to clear the land ready for the expansion of a giant open-cast coal mine.

The 120 year old building was standing on top of deposits of one of Europe’s dirtiest fuels: brown coal, or ‘lignite’.

Last minute legal appeals and direct action from Greenpeace activists failed to prevent the destruction of the cathedral from going ahead.

A spokesperson for RWE, the giant energy company that owns the mine and the power plants it fuels, told reporters on the scene that steps were being taken to protect the climate – a claim campaigners responded to with anger given the enormous impact of the CO2 emissions from the company’s plants.

Plants owned by RWE in various countries are responsible for almost a fifth of all CO2 emissions from coal in the EU and the harmful air pollution they cause are linked to more than 1700 premature deaths according to analysis by the Europe Beyond Coal campaign.

The symbolism of a historic building being destroyed to extract a fuel that destroys the climate spread quickly on social media.

Some users drew a connection to the UK government’s confirmation last week that it would phase out coal by 2025 and the news that Finland was considering bringing its own national phase out date forward from 2030 to 2025.

Germany, which is still without a government after elections last year, is yet to announce how it will phase out coal ahead of a 2030 deadline in order to meet commitments in the Paris agreement.

Aside from the Cathedral the mine’s expansion continues to threaten local forests and entire villages, including buildings listed as being of historical interest.

The significance of the building for the local population was highlighted by fire fighter Marc Bolten, 34. In 2015 Bolten had an image of the cathedral tattooed on his arm and told RP Online it was to help him remember a beautiful village. He told the local paper:

Bolten wrote: “This is my hometown. I grew up here. Almost everything I ever did for the first time happened in Immerath”.

Another local resident, Norbert Winzen, whose family have farmed in the area for generations, has explained how he was not allowed to make significant changes to his home because of its heritage protection. Yet it now seems to be just a matter of time until the mining company that destroyed Immerath Cathedral today reaches his farm.

Last year Norman described the scene in front of his house:

Winzen wrote:“When I go out of my door, I see people from the mining company. Building pumps, cutting trees, closing houses. Keyenberg had 950 inhabitants, and now I think there are 50-70 who have gone. I think in two years there will be 400 left, and in four years – 20 left.”

“My mother has lived in this village for 73 years, and she always says: “I hope I’m going to die before this mining company really starts.”

I should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, write, balance accounts, build a wall, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, pitch manure, program a computer, cook, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

Since the first nuclear reactor was shut down in 2003 as a part of Germany’s nuclear phaseout, electricity from renewables has increased almost twice as much as nuclear power has shrunk.

Coal power – both from lignite and hard coal – has also dropped.

The lights have stayed on.

Power exports also set a record for the fifth year in a row, reaching 53 TWh. Net power exports provide space for dispatchable conventional power generators (coal, gas, and nuclear). Renewable electricity has priority dispatch on the German grid, meaning that clean power is consumed before conventional power. Wind and solar in particular react to the weather, not to demand, so foreign demand cannot increase these sources.

Gas was once again slightly up in 2017 but has grown by more than a quarter since 2013. Hard coal has fallen by just over a quarter during the same time frame...

‘Mr Energiewende’ quits German government in protest at coalition dealPublished on 05/03/2018, 4:43pmGermany’s new deal was a “bitter disappointment” for those looking for a modern climate and energy policy, said outgoing energy secretary Rainer Baake